Elijah of Buxton

I've read all of Curtis's books with my younger child, and this has to be the most evocative, heartbreaking, inspirational of them all. I love all of his books, but this one includes a scene so moving that I will never forget it.

Fiction and non-fiction about slavery isn't new or rare, and much of it feels like trauma porn after a while. This book is relatively unique in my experience, set in a (real life Canadian) colony founded by escaped enslaved people and their children born in freedom. Our hero Elijah is born in freedom in Canada, a rare narrator in children's literature.

Started out slowly, but built to a powerful and emotional ending. Not sure I would have liked this as much reading instead of listening. Narrator did a good job of making Elijah less annoying than his character traits and more relatable

I was told at TLA that Christopher Paul Curtis said this is his favorite book. For a person who loved Bud Not Buddy like me, I couldn't see how this could be. Having read Elijah, I would say I still like Bud Not Buddy a little more, but this is a worthy sibling.

Elijah is the first child born free in Canada to former American slaves. Buxton is a real town in Canada that was founded by a Presbyterian minister in the 1800's as a refuge for American slaves and as a place to make a brand new, wonderful start.

This was a novel of great hope and terrible sadness. One of the last big scenes in the book, the scene that takes place in the barn, is a scene of heart-wrenching sadness and yet beautiful hopefulness. Newbery Honor.